to think "its impacting on my mental health" is over used

[54321nought]

I just seem to hear this constantly.

I know you can't judge what another person is going through. Every single individual time I hear it, I give the person the benefit of the doubt.

But overall, I just don't think that many people are having their mental health impacted!

I think it sometimes just means " I don't like this situation" /" this makes me anxious/nervous" / " this is annoying"

We have such easy lives, for the most part. Why is everyone suddenly saying that not getting their own way in something or other is giving them mental health problems?

I have cared for a lot of children and adults with mental health problems, I know how painful and debilitating they can be. Its not what I see in people who are telling me "XYZ is impacting on my mental health".

I know some mental health problems might be invisible, not surely not on this scale, when we all have food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation etc, and in places I have lived without these things, people don't seem to be claiming so many mental health problems....

Stress,anger,sadness,heartbreak,tiredness,anxiety etc can all affect/impact on someone's mental health. That doesn't necessarily mean they have a mental health illness. The opposite is equally true. Just because someone doesn't have a diagnosis it doesn't mean that their mental health isn't impacted.

Unless you have the professional credentials and know everything about their background, you can't judge . Well you can, but not in any meaningful,helpful or significant way. Just in a twat way.

@LolaSmiles

I was super eye-rolly at the term ‘self-care’ previously but since suffering a bad spell of depression and anxiety I have been much more open to it - for me it means thinking more consciously about my mental well-being on a day-to-day basis, and using a much wider range of tools to help manage it.

Going for a run because you feel stressed is good but these days I’ll do things like breathing exercises, meditation, manage my diet, spend time in nature, have screen time breaks etc and I’m much more aware of my mental well-being and actively managing it rather than waiting until I have a really tough day.

I agree OP with this and the sentiment, and also too many who claim this are not prepared to help reduce whatever is troubling them.

We have such easy lives, for the most part

YABVU. Perhaps speak for yourself.

Unless you have the professional credentials and know everything about their background, you can't judge . Well you can, but not in any meaningful,helpful or significant way. Just in a twat way.

Brilliant. And so true.

@grapewine

We have such easy lives, for the most part

YABVU. Perhaps speak for yourself.

Not just me. With the exception of people experiencing homelessness, most people in the UK have access to food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation, clothing, a bed to sleep in, etc

We lose sight of the fact half of the humans in the world don't have these things.

Also in the UK, we are living in peace, not war.

Most of the people in the UK who do not have these things only don't because someone is maliciously with holding them, which happens to comparatively very few people

We have such easy lives, for the most part

It troubles me that someone who says they work in mental health would make such a sweeping, dismissive generalisation.

YANBU.

These days, “impacting my mental health” often means “makes me feel things I don’t like feeling” or, worse, “makes me feel unhappy”. As though anybody has an entitlement to be free of unwanted feelings, or happiness.

It’s often easy to ignore the person and get on with life. But what’s unforgivable is the effect these people have on real sufferers. It’s like bagging a gluten-free meal for yourself because you feel better when you’re not bloated, and denying someone suffering crippling side-effects if their food is so much as contaminated with gluten.

Resources for helping people with mental illnesses are scarce. They will always be scarce. Money and time and expertise aren’t infinite. They should be reserved for those most in need.

@54321nought

Surely, since you work in the field, you understand that access to basic amenities such as water, shelter and food are not the only determining factors in relation to a person's mental health?

[quote onelittlefrog]For anyone interested - Mental health vs. Mental illness:

wearewellbeing.co.uk/insights/the-difference-between-mental-health-and-mental-illness/[/quote]
BRAVO! Thankyou @onelittlefrog.

This is yet another thread where the OP and PPs have no idea what the very important difference is between mental HEALTH and mental ILLNESS and the first more generally.

Everyone has mental health. It’s very specific to an individual and anything at all can impact on it negatively or positively. in addition to this, mental health is like scales. If you put too much on the wrong side, it tips over. When somebody says XX is impacting on their mental health, they mean that thing has weighed down the negative side, it doesn’t matter how small it is.

The reason you think you hear more people talking like this is because
A) it’s much more acceptable to about today.
B) as a species and a society, we have been through a really fucking rough time lately. Everybody’s negative side of the scale is feeling heavy.

You can have your opinion OP sure but you’re way off the mark.

I wonder whether some people equate mental health with a perpetual state of happiness and don't realise/know that you can be unhappy/annoyed/dissatisfied and they are normal human emotions and don't have to affect your mental health as such? It's normal to feel a spectrum of emotions.

I had a panic attack over ten years ago. I had three weeks off work. Afterwards I experienced major digestive disruption, significant weightloss. During the panic attack the thing I remember is that my sight went. I can't remember who was there for myself - I've been told who helped me. I kind of understand what you mean - when someone hyperventilates and panics for half an hour I tend to think like you have but always try to never judge because I recognise its subjectivity.

All in all, if you don't mind me adding, ANY talk about mental health is a very positive thing though, and people should acknowledge it in themselves.

It’s quite staggering that someone involved in the care of people cannot see the correlation between people feeling more able to ask for help and numbers of people hitting absolutely crisis not rocketing.

I am having some issues at work at the moment which I would massively describe as having an impact on my mental health.
My issues at work are making me not want to get out of bed in the morning, be withdrawn and have huge bouts of anxiety. Prior to these work problems I have never suffered with any mental health issues but I would absolutely describe this as having an impact on my mental health.
It doesn’t mean I’ve got severe mental health issues it simply means that the problems are generating my mental health to decline and if things don’t change I see it making me quite unwell.
Recognising that it’s having an impact on my mental health has made me able to attempt to deal better with these problems rather than just fobbing myself off telling myself I’m tired/grumpy/miserable/sad.

Mental health is not talked about enough so if someone tells me something is impacting their mental health im going to listen because I’d rather listen and it turn into something and nothing than not listen and that person decline more and become suicidal.
So I’d rather people overuse the phrase than underuse it because if it gets just one person listened to and help given than that’s a good thing

@ExpressDelivery

I tend to agree with you OP.

I recently lost my DH. I have days when I really struggle with that and barely function. Does that mean my mental health has been adversely affected or does it mean I'm having a normal response to a really horrible situation?

You could be having a totally normal response that is impacting your mental health, which would be totally normal. Bereavement does impact your mental health. Of course it does.

I’m sorry for your loss

I know some mental health problems might be invisible, not surely not on this scale, when we all have food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation etc, and in places I have lived without these things, people don't seem to be claiming so many mental health problems....

You could reason this might be due to Maslows hierarchy of needs whereby we focus on basic physiological needs before psychological needs.

You're right. See also the overuse of "I have anxiety" by people who really don't know what that means and use it as a cop-out excuse for avoiding activities, particularly work, that they don't want to do.

I think you're in the wrong volunteering role, OP.

@JustLyra

It’s quite staggering that someone involved in the care of people cannot see the correlation between people feeling more able to ask for help and numbers of people hitting absolutely crisis not rocketing.

Unfortunately so common. There’s a lot of people working in mental health and illness that really need to either change with the times or change career before they do irreparable damage to someone.

@SwimmyG

I know some mental health problems might be invisible, not surely not on this scale, when we all have food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation etc, and in places I have lived without these things, people don't seem to be claiming so many mental health problems....

You could reason this might be due to Maslows hierarchy of needs whereby we focus on basic physiological needs before psychological needs.

Basic physiological needs are at the very bottom of Maslow's hierarchy. Someone who works in mental health as the OP claims to do, should realise that difficulties at the higher levels of the hierarchy in terms of social, emotional and self fulfilment needs are equally as relevant in terms of impact on mental well-being.

If you’re in a volunteer role working with people with mental health needs @54321nought the first thing you would’ve been taught is you NEVER judge.

[quote sofiegiraffe]@54321nought

Surely, since you work in the field, you understand that access to basic amenities such as water, shelter and food are not the only determining factors in relation to a person's mental health? [/quote]
You'd think so.

Taking about mental health is a good thing. Mental health does not have to mean full blown mental illness to be able to talk about it.
Having a clean and tidy home contributes to my good mental health.
Having a routine, getting enough sleep , having a good diet, all contribute to my good mental health.
Recognizing my triggers and not getting into situations that make me feel overly anxious and stressed while pushing my boundaries enough to build my character - all contribute to my good mental health.

We need the words to talk about this so that we can learn habits that help us avoid reaching mental illness. Of course, some mental illnesses will arise regardless of whether we practice good mental health behaviors but things like burnout we can actively prevent. Smoking, drinking, and a poor diet don't necessarily cause cancer but they arw carcinogenic. Certain behaviors can be mentally damaging and we should encourage discourse to prevent those too.

The question is more about responsibility. Am i myself responsible for practicing my own positive mental health behaviors? Absolutely. Should I make my own health behavior the responsibility of others - well i wouldn't want to work in an office full of people smoking so why would i want to work in a mentally toxic one? But I can't avoid the commute to work because I could possibly be in a health accident so i can't avoid a difficult conversation with my boss in case it upsets me. I just need to work myself on making things safer - like wearing a helmet if I ride my bike is my responsibility, nobody elses.

A mentally ill person can not always be responsible for themselves anymore. That is the difference. Once you have cancer you can not cure it with herbal tea. Once you have depression just going for a walk is not going to fix you.

• Not just me. With the exception of people experiencing homelessness, most people in the UK have access to food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation, clothing, a bed to sleep in, etc

We lose sight of the fact half of the humans in the world don't have these things.

Also in the UK, we are living in peace, not war.*

So ACEs,poverty, trauma ,abuse ,neglect count for nothing(historically or otherwise) as long as everyone has food in their bellies and a roof over their heads? Good to know. That's without genetic components and predisposition to certain conditions.

People like you are the reason why I was unable to ask for help as a child/teen and why I still can't now. Guess it serves your purpose... I'm not taking any help or services away from anyone.

I thought this was interesting.

“Why do I – still – feel slightly embarrassed to say I have bipolar disorder? Because mental illness remains rather unacceptable, with some diagnoses more so than others. “Mental health” is not only less unpleasant, it actually feels quite wholesome, implying a healthy mind and healthy living. “I must look after my mental health” sounds far better than “I fear becoming mentally ill”.”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/14/mental-illness-sidelined-mental-health-treatment